U21s PREVIEW: BRIGHTON

NORWICH City Development Squad manager Dmitri Halajko insists his side will stick to their principles when they visit Brighton in the Barclays Under-21s Premier League Cup on Thursday (7pm).

The Canaries enter at the round of 32 stage due to having a Category One Level Academy, and face Albion at the Seagulls' 30,000-seater Amex Stadium.

Despite the knock-out format of the tournament, Halajko told canaries.co.uk: "We'll still try to play the Norwich way, as we would for any other match.

"We want to win of course, but that won't detract from how we play our football. We'll approach the game in the same manner to normal, although this competition is great in that all matches are played at first team stadiums.

"We've got a few players who had a similar experience with the FA Youth Cup, so that can only benefit them. Going to an away stadium is a different experience and one they need to get used to.

"They all love playing at Carrow Road because it's their home ground, but experiencing other environments is important too."

The Canaries are once again set to name a youthful team, with Afolabi Coker, Louis Ramsay and Reece Hall-Johnson currently sidelined.

"We've got a few injuries, which provides an opportunity for some more Under-18s to make their debuts," explained Halajko.

"The likes of Jamar Loza and Conor McGrandles have really led in the last couple of games. The players with a bit more experience can certainly be of great help to the younger ones.

"We feel we've performed well recently and just missed out on results by letting ourselves down in both boxes. At times we've needed better emergency defending and to be more clinical in attack.

"If we'd done that then two or three results could have swung in our favour, so we're hoping to for an improvement in those areas against Brighton."